Linked Through and Throughout
by ArcaneLucario
Summary: No matter what universe, no matter what the circumstances were, there was always one guaranteed constant: That Eren Yeager and Annie Leonhart would find each other and fall in love. This was the power of the red thread of fate. A late contribution to EreAnnie week 2018
1. Chapter 1

**Linked Through and Throughout**

We've all heard of the traditional arranged marriage. One where the bridge and groom are set up by someone, possibly their parents, a professional matchmaker, or maybe even a friend. And we all know how in most cases, the bride and groom would usually have never met before, or would have met at least once, right?

And we've all heard of how these turn out. In some cases, it tends to be a perfect, or near perfect marriage where the two people fall in love straight away or over time, and they stay together. In other cases, it doesn't work out and so the couple break up, but they may maintain a healthy relationship, especially if they had had a child, and so they need to make sure it feels loved.

Of course, an arranged marriage doesn't always have to be like that.

* * *

"Eren Yeager!" A sweet yet commanding voice, a motherly one if you will, called from the front door to their house. "I told you we'd be leaving in an hour, and it's been nearly twice that!"

Upstairs in his room, a young man (though he was a boy at heart, for the most part at least) was struggling to prepare himself. "I'll be down in just a second, mom!"

Back downstairs, the mother of the Yeager household responded. "Don't you shout at me mister! These are old friends of your father and I that you're going to meet today, so you must be on your best behaviour!"

A hand reached out and rested itself on the woman's shoulder. "Carla, dear, you mustn't fret about such things."

"But Grisha we can't have Eren mess this up. We both agree that he'd be the perfect husband for their daughter." Carla whined, checking her phone for the time, clearly unimpressed by her son's incompetence.

Grisha let out a hearty chuckle. "Yes, I know we did, but you must remember this is his marriage here and not ours, so of course it won't go as smoothly as thought." He then coughed. "Besides, I already told Andrew and Lisa not to expect us to arrive on time. I'm sure Eren is just nervous about meeting his future wife for the first time, so just give him a little longer, okay?" After his wife gave in to his reasoning, the man kissed his wife on the cheek, and went to wait by the car.

Still upstairs, and still fiddling with his tie, Eren called for assistance. "Mikasa, can you come give me a hand with this?"

A young raven-haired woman, around the same age as Eren, walked into his room, wearing a fancy, yet not too fancy, red dress that had a slight floral pattern to it. Slowly, she made her way over to her brother, and took the bowtie from his hands. "Oh, Eren…my foolish brother. When will you learn to do this on your own?"

Eren grunted, brushing his long hair away from his face. "I'm trying, but it just doesn't seem to work for me! I swear I've been cursed by someone."

Mikasa shook her head and giggled, toying with the bowtie instead of doing it up like she had been requested. "Now tell me, Eren, how do I look?" Taking a step back, she presented herself to her brother.

The brunette Yeager boy gave his sister a quick look over, and then sighed. "You know I'm the one getting married, right?" He recognized the dress as one she had bought not too long ago, one just for special occasions.

Giving a questioning look at her brother, the Ackerman looked at her reflection in the mirror, because damn if she didn't think she looked fine. "Oh? And what's that supposed to mean? You trying to say I look better than you do?" She moved back in front of Eren and got back to tying his bowtie. "I suppose we already knew that, though."

Slightly flustered, the emerald-eyed boy turned his head to look at the clock on the wall. "S-shut up! Stop messing with me Mikasa, I don't wanna keep mom waiting any longer."

Not long after, the two children made their way downstairs and out the door.

"Sorry mom," Eren apologised. "I just wanted to make sure I looked good for this."

Seeing the genuine look in his eyes, the brown-eyed woman decided she couldn't stay mad at her son. "Oh, alright Eren…I just don't want you to mess this up."

"Me neither" He replied. And he really didn't want to miss this opportunity. Eren was in his late 20's, and while that didn't make him old, his chance of finding someone was lessening by the day. He was never good with girls, and sometimes his attitude would scare people off, so that didn't help. There's also the fact that living in a small town like Shiganshina meant there wasn't as big of a dating pool as say, Trost.

Another reason why Eren didn't want to mess it up was because he had put his full faith into his parents. Though once rebellious as a child, Eren had learnt to respect his parents, and trusted them with everything, so one day he had approached them and asked if they had any friends who had a daughter looking to marry.

Approaching him from behind, Mikasa carefully pinched his ears, showing to Carla that they had gained a red tinge. Sighing, Carla spoke again. "You couldn't tie your bowtie, could you? Honestly, Eren, I don't know why you're dressing yourself up so much! I mean, even if you do agree to marry the woman you're meeting today, the wedding won't be for a while."

"Y-yeah, I know! But you and dad said I have to make a good first impression, and so I wanna do that! I just thought I should look nice is all…" Eren gave his reasoning, walking towards the car as he did so.

Figuring that Eren was likely feeling nervous, the Yeager woman decided to forgive him. After all, they didn't need any negative feelings on a day such as this one. She then made her way to their car, and the family set off to their destination, a small town by the name of Liberio.

* * *

For almost the entirety of the journey, Eren felt his nerves racking up, and would constantly be tapping his feet to Mikasa's annoyance. Having had enough of it, and in an attempt to comfort him, Mikasa placed her hand on his knee.

"Hey, Eren? You alright?"

The brunette turned to face his sister. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine, why?" She pointed down at his legs. "Oh, was I doing that thing again?"

Nodding, the black-eyed woman removed her hand. "So, everything okay?"

Eren let out breath. "Eh, I suppose so. It's just that mom and dad haven't told me anything about her, so I don't know what to expect."

"Ah," Now she could see where he was coming from. "why'd you do that?"

He shrugged. "I dunno…I guess I thought that the less I knew the more fun it would be, and since I'd have less to expect then maybe I could get along with her easier."

"Oh, right, yeah. Don't you think that was kinda dumb though? I mean because of that, now you're all nervous, and knowing you, you're going to mess this up" Mikasa questioned her brother, knowing that she was right.

Eren let out a small burst of anger. "NO! I won't!" Gaining a puzzled look from his mother and father in the rear-view mirror, he took a moment to calm himself down.

"Is everything alright back there, sweetie?" Carla asked, concerned for her son.

Observing the passing scenery, which Eren found quite soothing, he apologized. "Yeah, mom. Sorry, I didn't mean to shout."

"It's alright, Eren. I Understand if you're feeling nervous or excited." Carla turned back to face the road, but not before giving a warm smile to Eren, helping to calm his nerves.

After he had apologized to his parents, Eren tried to ask something of his sister. "Unless…do you know anything about her, Mikasa?"

The young woman shook her head. "Nope."

"What? So, why'd you say that stuff?"

She giggled "Just messing with ya. Besides, even if I did, you did say that you didn't want to know anything about her before meeting her, sooo…" Mikasa drifted off.

Groaning, Eren took out his phone and went onto one of his social media profiles to see if he could find the profiles of his parent's friends through their profiles, and then consequently find out anything he could about their daughter. This was to no avail, however, as he didn't seem to be getting any signal, and so couldn't use the internet. This meant that all Eren had to go off about his possible future wife was that her last name is Leonhart, her parents are called Andrew and Lisa, and she was single. Instead of dwelling over this, the boy just loaded up a game and started playing that as a means of distraction from his current dilemma.

* * *

Soon enough, they arrived at the Leonhart's home, located in the outskirts of Liberio. Their house was fairly large, and was possibly even bigger than the Yeager household, but that didn't matter. All that mattered right now was Eren being prepared to meet the girl his parents had chosen for him to marry.

The four of them exited the vehicle and made their way to the front door. Ringing the doorbell, Grisha coughed to gain his son's attention. "Now Eren, we've said this before, but you must be on your best behaviour. We don't want you to make a fool of yourself in front of our friends, or in front of their daughter either, do we? Just take it easy, be yourself and I'm sure it'll be fine." Agreeing, Eren calmed himself down, and mentally prepared himself for this moment. It came quicker than he thought it would, but of course it would happen sometime.

All of a sudden, the door flew open, and stood in front of the Yeager family were two adults. One, a middle-aged man who was relatively short, using a cane to hold himself up, and had dark, combed back hair. The other, a middle-aged woman, a tad bit taller than the man with pale blonde hair that went down past her neck. Presumably these were Andrew and Lisa Leonhart, the friends of his parents.

Andrew was the first to speak, his voice sounding deep, yet kind. "Ah, Grisha, Carla! It's so nice to see you after so long!"

Reaching his hand out, Grisha responded. "Andrew! Lisa! You're both certainly looking healthy!" Andrew took hold of Grisha's hand and shook it. "How have you been since we last met?"

"Oh, we've been just swell. Business hasn't exactly been booming, but aside from that, we're alright. How about you?" the Leonhart man queried.

Carla was the one to answer. "We've been quite fine, thank you. We really must do this more often, shouldn't we?"

"Yes, we really should. With enough hope, after today we shall be seeing more of each other." Lisa returned. She too had a sweet voice, a slightly lighter one that his mothers, though.

Almost forgetting to introduce them, Grisha turned to his children. "Where are my manners? Andrew, Lisa, I'd like for you to meet our children. This is our daughter, Mikasa." she presented her hand, first to Andrew and then to Lisa, shaking their hands. They took note of the fact that her grip was firm and quite strong, reminding them of how Grisha had mentioned she was quite adept at fighting and self-defence. Maybe she could also get along with their daughter?

"And this is our son, Eren, the one we've been telling you about."

Eren too stuck his hand out, also shaking the hands of the two adults. "I-it's nice to meet you Mr and Mrs Leonhart!"

Andrew gave a hearty chuckle. "There's no need for the formalities. Please, call us Andrew and Lisa."

Lisa spoke. "And it's nice to meet you too. From what we've heard you're very respectable, and quite smart, so I hope you can get along with our daughter."

"Um, yeah I hope so too! Is…is she around right now?" The young man asked, his excitement building up, peeking past the Leonhart's to see if their daughter was currently visible.

Once more, Lisa responded. "Yes, Annie will be either in her room or in the back garden. I'll fetch her in just a second. Why don't you four come on through into our lounge and make yourself at home in the meantime?"

That was the first time Eren had been told her name, so he let that information slide into place in his mind. 'Annie Leonhart…huh. That's a pretty name. I wonder if she looks just as pretty?' His cheeks flushed a little at that thought.

Making their way into the Leonhart household, Mikasa gained her brother's attention. "So, Eren, you ready?" Her voice had a clear layer of concern, something that she always had for her brother, ever since being brought into the Yeager family.

Trying (and failing) to act like it was nothing, Eren answered. "Yeah, I think I am. I can't wait to meet her." And that was true. His excitement was rising by the second. It wouldn't be long now before he would finally come face to face with Annie Leonhart, the possible woman of his dreams.

* * *

Sitting in the living room, with Mikasa by his side, Eren's eyes shifted around the room, taking in the décor. His parents had long since entered conversation with their long-time friends and would continue to converse for some time. He first came across what seemed to be a collection of family photos, the first of which was taken a considerable amount of time ago, as Andrew and Lisa Leonhart looked a fair bit younger than they do today, and they had a baby with them, which Eren assumed was Annie. Next was a photo taken at a nursery school, presumably Annie's first day. In said photo she looked to be around 2 years old, and alongside her were both parents. Annie was stood hiding behind her father's leg, but you could just about make out a smile. Both parents had gleeful looks, obviously thrilled that their daughter was starting school.

There were a few more photos visible from Eren's position. Some just of Annie, some of her with one parent, some with both. There was, however, something strange. At one point there was a mysterious lack of photos, as if a portion of the Leonhart's life together had been skipped. Strange…Anyway, there was a range of more photos scattered around the room, but they weren't visible from Eren's position. Perhaps they were of happier times?

Soon enough, Eren grew tired of just staring at photos, and so his mind moved to wondering what Annie looked like nowadays. None of the photos that Eren had looked at seemed that recent, so for all he knew this woman could look nothing like she did as a child.

"Lisa?" Eren asked, trying to gain her attention.

The blonde woman paused her lengthy conversation with Carla and turned to face Eren. "Yes, Eren?"

Eren started fumbling with his fingers but calmed himself at the last second. "So, when do I get to meet your daughter?" Grisha and Andrew stopped their conversation hearing that.

Lisa mentally slapped herself, completely forgetting the whole purpose of the Yeager family's visit to their home. "Oh, goodness! Please, forgive me Eren, I was having too much fun catching up with your mother. I'll fetch her right now!"

Just before she could go to fetch her daughter, Mikasa interjected. "There's no need to apologize Mrs Leonhart. We understand that it has been some time since you last met, so don't worry about it. Right, Eren?" She whispered that last bit under her breath, and sneakily elbowed her brother.

Giving another warm smile, Lisa thanked Mikasa for her understanding. "It's nice to see you two have been raised so well. And please Mikasa, call me Lisa. Anyway, I'll go get Annie, so you can meet her. I think she may be a bit nervous about today too, so you're in the same boat."

Oh boy…the time was nearly here. Eren knew why he was nervous, but he didn't know why he was this nervous. It didn't even feel like he was the right kind of nervous, it just felt off. It felt more like he was also meeting someone he hadn't seen in ages, and not the nervous you would get when meeting someone important for the first time. How peculiar…

Not long after, Lisa returned, this time with a figure following a short distance behind her. Walking through the threshold between the corridor and the lounge, she announced her arrival. "Yeagers, I'd like for you to meet our pride and joy, Annie." She moved to the side to allow her daughter's entry.

Immediately, Eren stood up ready to introduce himself. He cleared his throat. "H-hey, I'm Eren it's nice to-" suddenly, his eyes shot wide open, and he carried a look of surprise.

Cautiously the figure walked in, and Eren looked over the woman in front of him, as if searching for something. She was around a foot shorter than he was, but the height didn't matter. Her hair was the same pale blonde as her mothers, but instead of wearing down like her mother, she wore it tied back, with some of it draping over her face. She also had these blue eyes that were of an indescribable beauty and that looked like they held a secret to them. How could he put this? In high school there was this girl called Historia who was regarded among her fellow students as the prettiest girl in school. Annie, however, was in Eren's opinion even prettier than her.

This wasn't love at first sight, was it? No, that was ridiculous...

Unlike Eren who was dressed up in a suit and the smartest shoes he owned, Annie was wearing what were probably her everyday clothes, a white hoodie, a pair of jeans and a pair of boots. Meaning, Eren was overdressed for the occasion, but it was too late to change that.

Offering a nearly silent "Hey" in return, Annie looked up at Eren, and found herself also in shock. Her eyes too shot open, and the puzzled looks on both their faces confused everyone else.

"Eren?"

"Annie?"

The two elder men called out, quickly exchanging a glance at the other to see if they knew what was happening.

Eren couldn't get any words out, and right as that happened his mind was attacked with an influx of memories. These memories, however, weren't his, and yet they were? They couldn't have been his though, because everything was different from his life. The year, the place. Everything. It was like Eren had been peering into alternate universes, and in these memories, there was one constant: He and Annie had always ended up together. One memory…or alternate universe…or whatever these were had the two of them in medieval times, coming from opposing lands but nevertheless falling for each other. Another memory was of the two of them meeting in a café, and after many attempts at flirting (from both sides), going on a date. Another had them being animals instead of humans, in which Annie saved Eren from predators, and so Eren tried to do his best to repay the favour.

Out of all these memories, there was none more familiar than the last he inspected. In this final memory, Eren lived confined within a set of colossal walls, and attacking these walls were giant humanoid creatures known as titans, the only way of defeating them being through the use of this weird type of gear that would swing you around. In this world, Eren had the ability to transform himself into one of those monsters, and Annie did too, but where was she? Eren could recall Annie being from across the ocean, and she also lived within the walls, but she wasn't above roaming free like Eren or his friends. Instead, she was confined within a cell, with what looked like the shards of a crystal scattered around her.

Why was that memory so familiar?

All of a sudden, Annie gasped, and a tear rolled out of her eye, but before anybody could see it, she turned to leave the room. "I'll be outside."

Feeling uneasy, Andrew got up from his chair. "Annie? Are you okay?"

However, before he could get an answer, his daughter walked out, and Eren started to follow.

"Where are you going?" Mikasa asked, nearly grabbing her brother's arm, but he had moved at the last second.

Turning to face Lisa, Eren queried "May I be excused? I'd like to talk to Annie in private."

She mulled it over, but then decided that perhaps this would allow for Eren and Annie to get to know each other, and so they could in fact marry. "Uh, sure, Eren. Just please don't do anything to harm Annie."

"I'd never do anything to hurt a friend." He promised, which did sound strange as he had never actually met Annie before today, but he left it and went to go find her.

* * *

As he made his way through the house, Eren thought over those memories that had attacked his mind. There was no logical answer, and this left him feeling confused, but it seemed wrong to discuss this with anyone but Annie.

Wait…would she understand him? Or would this make Eren seem like a mad man and scare Annie off? Then again, she had a similar look in her eye to Eren, so maybe she could understand…ah to hell with it. Eren wanted answers, so he opened the back door and walked out.

At the back of the garden was a smallish oak tree, and under it sat Annie. Cautiously, Eren approached Annie, though he was unsure of how to proceed, or even start talking about this problem.

He walked up to Annie, and saw how she looked distressed, almost confirming his theory that she experienced the same thing as he did. "Hey, Annie?"

"What?" She replied, before looking up, noticing it was the guy from earlier. "Oh…Eren, is it?" He nodded. "What do you want?"

Eren scratched the back of his head. "I just wanted to see if you were alright, and I guess I want to get to know you? Also…there's something I wanted to ask you."

"Huh…" Annie thought. 'Is he thinking what I am?' Despite the fact that Eren was a stranger to her, and she knew very little about him, Annie decided to pursue this conversation. "So, what did you want to ask?"

'Alright then, guess we're skipping straight to it then' He sat down next to Annie, leaving enough space for it not to be uncomfortable. "Have…have we met before?"

Annie's eyes widened once more in surprise. "Wha-…what did you say?"

'Crap, should I not have said that?' Eren waited a moment, seeing if Annie was about to tell him off for asking what he did, but she didn't. "Sorry. You probably think I'm weird, don't you?"

She shook her head. "No. Well aside from the fact that you're wearing a suit to my house, I don't. You're not a massive creep, are you?"

Eren nearly fell backwards hearing that. "What? No! I mean, I don't think I am. Am I?"

The blonde woman let out a small giggle, which in Eren's opinion was cute. "I dunno." She shrugged. "I've never met you before, so I'm yet to have an opinion on you."

Completely disregarding the fact that his original intention for following Annie was to ask about the memories, Eren thought it would be a good idea to continue this conversation.

Even though they had just met, Eren would agree that Annie seemed like someone who it would be pretty fun to talk to. Or that at the very least she gave off a calm and soothing vibe.

"Hey, so, um, Annie? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

Eren wasn't exactly sure if he was going to cross the line with what he had in mind, but it had been on his mind, so he asked it anyway. "How come you're still single?"

Annie looked at Eren with a dumbfounded expression, amazed at his stupidity. Shaking her head, she let out a deep sigh. "Oh god...my parents are setting me up with someone who doesn't even know how to talk to girls." When Eren tried to reply, all he could do was stumble over his words, trying to say something about how he did know how to, leaving Annie to giggle again.

"Look, I'm sorry if I shouldn't have said that. I was just wondering...I mean you're...you know…" He apologized, leaving what he was saying ambiguous.

The blonde shifted slightly closer to Eren, and nudged him, teasingly. "Oh? What am I?"

Eren's cheeks gained a rosy hue as he began to explain. "Well...I, uhh...you're…"

"Come on, Eren, spit it out already."

"YOU'RE REALLY PRETTY!" He exclaimed. "I-I mean I think you're pretty, at least, and you seem like a nice person and… I dunno… I just thought you would've been asked out at least a few times before."

Temporarily losing her composure, Annie scooted back away from Eren. After a moment, she responded. "Contrary to what you might think, most people prefer not to approach me, and so to them I seem…hostile."

"Huh…I don't see that. I wonder why they'd think that?"

"No," Annie took a breath. "I understand it. I'm not the most easy-going person, but I suppose that's just how I am."

"Oh. Maybe they just need to take a moment and try to get to know you? At least, I hope that I can get to do that." Eren pondered on why Annie apparently wasn't popular. He didn't know anything about her, and yet he was curious about her wellbeing, which puzzled Annie, but perhaps Eren was just the curious type?

The two young adults found themselves lost in conversation for a short while, trying to find out more about each other while not prying too much into their personal lives. It was actually quite enjoyable for the both of them, and before they knew it, they were talking like they had already known each other for some time.

It wasn't longer, however, before Eren remembered his original reason for going to talk to Annie, which he had attempted to learn about earlier, but their talk lead them to a different path. They had already been outside for a short while, and they would need to return indoors soon, so as to not raise any suspicion or concern, so Eren just came out and asked his question.

"Annie…I…I could've sworn I saw you crying earlier…is everything okay?"

"What?" She looked at him, not knowing he had spotted the tear. "Yeah, maybe…I think so. It doesn't matter, so don't worry about it."

'Huh' Eren took in her answer for consideration, and then pushed it to the side, seeing as he had something else on his mind. "You didn't answer my question from earlier."

"I didn't? Oh, sorry. What was it?" Annie apologised, though she knew she was the reason the conversation got off track.

"We haven't met before, have we?"

Despite having heard the question a few minutes prior, it still caught her off guard. Annie knew that she had never met Eren before today, and yet he felt so…familiar. "I don't think we have? Otherwise, what would be the point of our parents setting us up?"

He nodded. "Yeah, you're right. But, at the same time it-" He was cut off.

"It feels like we have?" Eren nodded once more. "No, I get what you're saying. There's no way though, right? We're from different parts of the country, and even though our parents are old friends, they had fallen out of touch, and so they never had a chance to introduce us."

Eren agreed with Annie's points. He then looked at the time on his phone and sighed. "Maybe we should just leave it for another time. We've been out here long enough, so I think we should be heading in."

Annie too didn't see the purpose in wasting much time on such a matter, so she shrugged it off.

The Yeager boy stood up first, offering his hand to the Leonhart girl. The blonde gingerly placed her hand in his, accepting his assistance, when suddenly, the two felt a spark between them, and once more, those memories from earlier came flooding in.

Annie quickly pulled herself up, and then stepped back away from Eren, shocked at the returning feeling.

The young adults stared directly at each other, realising that the other had in fact felt it too.

Silence passed for a moment or two, before Annie spoke up. "H-hey, Eren?"

"Yeah?"

"There's something I want to try. You don't mind if that suit gets dirty, do you?" Before he could begin to form a response, Annie had raised her fists, and then charged towards Eren, an exhilarating feeling pulsing throughout her body.

One second, Eren was stood, watching Annie run towards him, and the next he was lying flat on his back, being straddled by the very woman who had flipped him into such a position.

The brunette blinked, unsure of what exactly had just happened. Regaining his breath, he could only look into the eyes of his attacker. "Wha…what just happened? Why did you do that?"

The blonde smirked, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. "I was testing you."

"Testing me?" She hummed in confirmation. "Did…did I pass?"

"Just about." Was her response, though in reality there was no test. If anything, she was testing a theory, and seeing if Eren had any capability as a fighter. The one from her memories did, after all.

"So, why'd you do it then?" Eren asked, somehow comfortable with his (literal) dream girl being sat on top of him.

Annie looked into his oh so innocent eyes and decided on her next action. "Because," She started to lean down. "I wanted to see if I should do this."

Eren, puzzled by her response, tried to open his mouth and question her further, but before he could get even a sound out, Annie's lips gently fell upon his, capturing them in a sweet and tender kiss.

Immediately, another spark was felt between the two. This time, a much larger one. One as if to say their minds and bodies had connected.

The two young adults had only recently met, but it was like they were already completely in sync. They kissed as if this was their millionth time doing so, they opened their mouths, allowing entry of each's tongues, but not to fight for dominance, instead to search for something that had been missing from their lives.

With each passing second, more and more sparks were felt. And with each passing second, the two adults only grew more and more attracted to the other. And with each passing moment, the kisses turned wilder and wilder.

And…


	2. Chapter 2

We've all heard of a marriage of convenience, right? A marriage where the bride and groom usually marry for a practical, financial or political reason, and one where they most often marry for a reason other than that of a relationship, family or love. These reasons for marrying often being for citizenship or right of abode, or something along those lines.

And we all know how these may turn out. Sometimes with the couple eventually splitting once the member who needed the marriage is back on their feet, or once they've been given a legal citizenship. Sometimes with the marriage being found out as a sham, one organised for personal gain, and so they couple are forced to split, and are punished accordingly.

Of course, a marriage of convenience doesn't always have to be like that.

* * *

"Eren Jaeger," A voice called through the door to his room. "I've been stood here for nearly a minute. If you don't open this door now I'm eating your dinner for the next 3 days, got it?!"

Staggering towards the door, Eren yawned, sleep not being an easy thing for him as of late. He opened the door. "Hey, Sasha. Sorry about that." He paused. "Please don't eat my dinner."

Gazing up at the face of the man before her, Sasha couldn't help but be shocked. Day after day, Eren's condition had been growing worse and worse. He had become an almost empty husk. A being which could only grow more depressed as the days passed. Even when it came to his body, he couldn't bring himself to care about it. His hair had been growing longer than he liked it, and he had some scruffy facial hair.

Every time Sasha (or one of the others) went to go collect Eren for whatever reason he was needed, they would always hope that somehow, when he'd open his door, they'd be greeted by the old Eren. The one who changed so many people's way of thinking. The one who inspired many to join the Survey Corps. But that would never happen. Things like these don't just happen overnight.

"So, what is it?"

Right, Sasha hadn't told him yet. "Historia has requested that you appear before her at some point today. It would be preferable if you could do so as soon as possible."

"She did? Do you know why?"

"Uhh, no, I don't. But she said it's urgent, so there's that."

Figuring that he might as well get it over with now, Eren grabbed his overcoat from behind the door, put it on, and started walking with Sasha. Besides, visiting Historia was always enjoyable.

"Hey Sasha?" Eren tried to get her attention. Humming in response, Sasha turned to look at him. "How come you were the one to get me instead of Jean, or even one of Historia's guards?"

"If you must know, Jean is busy working with Levi and Hange, and Armin as well." Sasha knew Eren's friendship with Armin was straining, but surely, he'd want to know how his old friend was doing? "And as for why I'm here, I offered to, and I don't have much on my schedule for today. Besides, the local butcher offered to give me some meat as thanks for helping him out."

Eren, for the first time in a while, let out a small chuckle. Of course, Sasha had another food related thing going on.

This chuckle however startled Sasha. It was unusual to hear that kind of thing coming from Eren anymore.

* * *

Not long after, the two parted ways, and Eren set off towards the meeting place with Historia, that being her private quarters.

An uneasy feeling washed through Eren, one that left him weary of the upcoming confrontation. It didn't understand it though. Usually conversations with Historia would be fairly easy going, and wouldn't be heavy on his mind, but this…this felt different. It felt complicated, and like any decisions made today could have a big impact on his future.

Slightly lost with his composure, the titan shifter slowly found his way to the room of friend and ex Survey Corps member, Historia Reiss. Getting into the castle had taken longer than expected, for the royal guards couldn't even recognise this current Eren. First Sasha, now them.

Maybe something really was wrong…

The guard that had escorted Eren knocked on the door, announcing their arrival. "M'lady, Eren Jaeger has arrived at your request." He opened the door.

"Excellent." Historia called out. "Please, come in." Doing just that, Eren offered a kind smile to his friend. "Be seated."

He made his way through the threshold of the room and sat down in the available chair. Wondering what this sudden meeting was about, Eren tried to start the conversation. "Hist-"

"How have you been Eren?"

"Wha-? I…uhh…alright, I suppose. How about you?"

The blonde took little notice of his response, the upcoming conversation being heavy on her mind too. "I've been fine myself, thank you very much."

An almost uncomfortable silence passed, neither teen speaking up. And uncomfortable wasn't a word you'd ever use to describe a meeting between Eren and Historia. They were very good friends, and had been through a lot together, so they could relate to each other's problems.

They had parents with secrets. They had people who hated them. They had struggles growing up.

They had dreams to do what others couldn't.

And the one way that they could relate to each other the most…

They had someone they loved…someone they trusted and wanted to share their lives with…someone they would have never expected to deceive them…do just that. Lie to them. Hide things from them. Run away.

Break their heart.

For Historia, this was Ymir. Their friendship had started off rough, and Historia always thought Ymir was hiding something, and that she was just living to protect her, and not for herself. In the end, it turned out that Ymir wasn't as selfish as she appeared to be, and she was really a kind person.

For Eren, this was Annie. A dear friend from the 104th Training Corps, revealed to be a titan shifter just like him. She taught him how to fight, how to think and how to survive. But then, she took it all away. She killed his friends, his loved ones. She destroyed a whole city. She broke his trust, and most of all, his heart.

The blonde Queen broke the silence. "Eren, I'm sure you know what I'm going to ask you."

Prompted by that, he did in fact know. Coming up was a question he had been asked several times by his friend, and every time he'd give a vague answer, one that didn't project his true feelings.

Here it came. "How do you feel about Annie Leonhardt?"

Taking a deep breath, and then a sigh, Eren got ready to repeat his answer, which might as well at this point be scripted, and just as he was about to speak he was interrupted.

"And this time be truthful Eren. I need to know how you really feel about Annie. This isn't just another friendly conversation between two good buddies, it's a serious matter that can't be delayed any longer."

The Jaeger teen sat up in his chair, surprised at the Reiss Queen's sudden commanding attitude. "What do you mean?"

"I just…I need to know the honest to God truth. If you don't tell me now, then something terrible could happen in the future, and everything could go wrong and get messed up for you. Please, Eren, I'm on your side." She informed Eren.

"So, what does Annie have to do with this?" Queried Eren.

Did he really not know? Surely Eren had heard the chatter from someone at some point.

"You know that Annie recently came out of her crystal, likely due to exhaustion and weakness, and that we have her imprisoned, don't you?" Historia took his silence as a yes. "And yet you haven't gone to visit her once. I really thought you would have, especially seeing what Annie meant to you."

"Annie doesn't mean what you thi-" He was interrupted once more.

"Eren!" Historia exclaimed "I'm begging you, do not lie to me. I'm trying to help you here, and all you're doing is making it harder for the both of us. We've talked on many occasions about this, and I know how you feel about her. Maybe not the full extent, but enough to understand how close you were."

The good doctor's son looked down at the floor and after a few moments replied, almost expressionless. "Then what do you want me to say? To do?"

The fact that Eren barely gave anything to that reply deeply saddened Historia. But she was sure that, given time, her plan could help him get out of this rut.

"First of all, I'd like for you to visit Annie, and then get back to me right away. This is an urgent matter, so I've spoken with both Levi and Hange so we could arrange to clear your schedule." The blonde gave her first set of instructions to her friend. "If you'd like I can accompany you for this."

An internal struggle happened in Eren's head, but he had proven more than once that he was capable of handling things on his own. "No…that's fine, thank you. I'll be able to do this on my own. I suppose I'll be seeing you later today then?"

Deciding to try and lighten the mood, Historia made a small joke. "Only if you don't get lost on the way."

For a moment, Historia could've sworn she saw the corner of Eren's lips curve upwards.

* * *

Just before leaving the chambers, Eren asked where it was Annie was being kept. It turned out that the central castle had its own jail cells (underground, of course) and the Female titan was being kept in one of those.

He sluggishly made his way there, the only thing really pushing him being curiosity for…something. Annie's wellbeing? The resolution of this adventure? The reason behind Historia's request? Who knows.

Shortly after making his way through many corridors and down several staircases, Eren found himself in front of a jail cell. In said jail cell you'd find a wooden stool, a bed, and a bunch of chains and shackles used to restrain a prisoner. And, of course, the very prisoner contained in the cell. Annie Leonhardt.

Eren took a step towards the cell, his eyes resting on his…friend or fellow shifter or girl he used to have feelings for or whatever the hell you'd refer to her as.

Not a sound came from Eren, and so Annie was left unaware of his presence. For now, at least.

With each passing second, the air felt like it was growing thicker and thicker. This was the first time Eren had laid his eyes upon Annie since their fight in Stohess, and he couldn't help but say that he was conflicted.

Somehow, she looked almost exactly the same as she did back then, though maybe a tad bit older, and yet her features hadn't changed. Even though she was curled up on the bed, head between her legs (something that everyone would say was unusual of her), she was still the same old Annie. Malnourished and tired, but somewhere in there, the Annie that Eren remembered was probably residing.

Curiosity gaining the better of her, Annie looked up to see who was there in the room. She assumed it would be one of the people who usually went to see her, someone like Hange or Levi or even Historia from time to time. But, the blonde shifter would have never expected to see Eren Jaeger in front of her. The one boy who broke down her metaphorical walls. The boy who she allowed to see the side of her no one else could. The boy who kept her sane in times where she would lose her grip on humanity.

The only boy she ever loved.

"Eren?" She asked through a weak voice.

He gave no response. He had none prepared. Why should he? He didn't even know Annie was imprisoned here, or even alive for that matter.

Wait, was this why for so long Historia kept on asking Eren on his feelings for Annie? Had Annie been out of the crystal all this time?

"Why…are you here?" She asked another question, once again receiving no answer.

Eren felt that he should say something, or shout at her, or just react in some manner, but nothing would come to mind. He missed Annie. He honestly did, but at the same time he…well he didn't hate her, per se, but he definitely at that point in time was unsure of how he really felt.

Several minutes passed, and in those minutes, Annie attempted to strike up some sort of a conversation with Eren a few times. Each time, Eren would try to respond, but nothing would come out. The only thing going through Eren's head were memories of his times with Annie from the old days. The days when everything wasn't so complicated.

It wasn't long before Eren gave up. Annie had stopped trying to reach for any type of conversation, and any further attempt from either teen would just be a waste of time. Without a word, he walked away, heading back to talk with Historia, leaving Annie to her lonesome.

* * *

As he made his way back to Historia's chambers, Eren thought through everything that had just happened. Well, if by everything you mean the barely anything that just occurred, then he did think through everything.

And god was Annie beautiful.

There had to be some important reason as to why Historia wanted Eren to see Annie at least once. Historia wasn't the kind of person to do something for no reason.

And god Annie was so beautiful.

He didn't know why he had been feeling so uneasy all day. Annie was an enemy of the Eldians, and a traitor to them all. She was a liar and monster and not someone Eren should care about so much.

But dear god was Annie so beautiful. And smart. And strong. And wise and caring in her own way and so vulnerable and needing and loving and-

Eren had once more arrived to meet with Historia. She appeared to be looking over the letter written by Ymir.

"Historia." Eren nodded and made his way back to the chair he had been seated in not long ago.

"Ah, Eren." She folded the letter and put it away. "Do you have an answer now?"

He assumed Historia meant an answer to the question she had asked him oh so many times. "I mean, what do you want from me? Annie and I were close, and we developed a special bond. She taught me so much and made me gain so much respect for her and I admired her both as a person and a friend. And then she threw it all away when she lied to us and it came out that she is a titan like me, and she tried to run away when I would have accepted her no matter what, but I didn't have time to say anything. I was young and dumb, and she was about to transform, and Mikasa had to drag me away."

Historia put up a hand, signalling that she wanted Eren to pause, which he did. "So, what's your point Eren?"

"My point is…my point is that I loved her, and even though Annie broke my heart, I can't help but still love her. Even though I thought she was dead this whole time, I still cared for her. I can't help but do so." This was a strange emotional outburst for Eren. For the first time in forever, he showed feelings in his words. "But why have you been asking me this? Why are you trying to torment me?"

"I'm sorry, Eren, but I told you that it was urgent. I also told you that I'm on your side, meaning I did this for a very specific reason." She apologised, though she had good intent.

Eren took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "What's that then?"

Historia didn't exactly know how to say this, but it had to be said, so she put together the first words that came to mind. "The council are thinking of disposing Annie."

"W-what?" Eren shot up from his place, now towering over Historia.

Looking up, Historia blinked in astonishment at the sudden action. "It hasn't been decided how exactly. This could mean through death, or it could mean through transferring her powers, either to you or a new titan."

"N-no. But they…they can't do that, can they? And I'd never eat Annie!" Eren started to panic.

The blonde queen continued. "Unfortunately, if it comes to a major vote, then they can. And currently, it seems that it will end that way."

Finding it hard to comprehend what he had just been told, Eren pinched himself, and then blinked a few times to see if it was just a dream. It wasn't. "So, then why'd you make me see Annie and come to terms with how I felt?"

Motioning for Eren to take a seat, Historia cleared her throat. "When I say this Eren, I want to you remember what I've already said a few times. I'm on your side. You understand, right?" He nodded. "Good. Anyway, I've forced you to go through with this because honestly, I don't want Annie dead either. Her dying would cause so much emotional turmoil for you, and if I can't have my happiness with Ymir, then I at least want you to have yours, at least until you succumb to the curse."

That was a bit of a downer.

"Now, the reason why is because I may have found a loophole that could potentially save Annie from dying. It's an old rule I had to search very hard for, but it's one that would save her life, and I'm sure would make you happier."

"What is it? I'll do anything to save her at this point. I can't lose someone else who's so important to me." Eren pleaded with who he counted as one of his closest friends.

"Well, I'm going to have to ask you another question, and I can only give you a week at most to think about it, because buying any more time would just seem suspicious." Historia gulped, the upcoming question being one she didn't think she'd have to ask anyone anytime soon.

"How do you feel about marriage?"


	3. Chapter 3

Eren woke up in a room that was not his, in a bed that was too large and luxurious to be his. It was seemingly the next day, or at least Eren assumed so by the bright sunlight shining through the window, and the chirping of birds outside.

He let out a yawn, and slowly rose from the bed. The brunette made his way to the door of the room, and opened it, revealing Historia, who was just about to knock on said door. "Historia?"

"Oh, Eren! Are you feeling any better after yesterday?"

Eren could only look at her with a puzzled expression, the last few occurring events in his life being fuzzy in his memory. "What? What happened yesterday?"

Historia smirked, though she was concerned for his wellbeing. "Walk with me."

The two troubled teens embarked on a small outing around the Reiss estate, something Historia did daily to clear her mind. It also came with the added bonus that sometimes the wild deer in the surrounding area would approach Historia, almost as if they could sense her motherly and caring nature.

"Did you give any thought to what I asked you?" Historia hoped he had. Technically now he only had 6 days to make a decision. The decision. One of the most important ones of his lifetime.

"I…can't remember what it was. Care to refresh my memory?"

"So, you don't remember what happened yesterday?" Eren shook his head in response. "Wow, I guess you hit your head harder than I thought."

Without knowing he even did it, Eren rubbed the back of his head. "Say what now?"

They took a right on the path they were taking, and Historia took a moment to see if the flowers she had planted had been growing well. They were.

"After I asked you how you felt about marriage, you fell backwards in your chair and fell unconscious. I then had my guards take you to a spare room." Historia always kept a room available for Eren to stay in, though he never accepted her offer to do so. Eren would claim the reason he didn't want to stay was because he didn't want to intrude, and every time Historia would try to convince him he wasn't, and then in the end they'd both just give up and go their separate ways.

They were both really stubborn sometimes.

"Oh, that makes sense. Explains why I can feel a bruise back there, but oh we-" Wait. What did she just say? "Did you just say marriage?" The blonde nodded. "As in…me marrying Annie?" She nodded once more. "I…uh, I-I, um, marry he-" His cheeks gained a deep blush, and any words he attempted to say were inaudible.

"Please don't faint on me again Eren. There's no one out here to help if you do." She begged.

Eren gave a slight chuckle. "I won't, I won't. But, what does me and Annie getting…y'know…have to do with saving her?"

Historia smiled, happy that Eren was progressing accordingly. With luck, they wouldn't even need the full 6 days to come to a decision. "Remember how I said I found an old loophole?" Eren hummed in agreement. "Even though it's one that I do not approve of, it's one that will work in our favour, so I'll have to let it go just this once. There's an old law stating that should a man and woman marry; the woman will become the legal property of the man."

The titan shifter took a moment to try and comprehend it, but he couldn't quite understand what Historia was trying to tell him. "What does that mean for me then? Or rather, us?"

"If Annie does agree to marry you, while technically she'll just be your wife, legally she'll be your property, and therefore even if the vote does turn against us, they won't be able to lay a hand on Annie. She'll be safe from those who wish to kill her." She explained, leading Eren on a path that took them back to the estate. "So only one question remains: Eren, will you take Annie as your wife?"

* * *

Later that day, Eren found himself in a tavern eating a dinner that Sasha (hopefully) wouldn't be able to steal from him. She was quite the crafty woman so for all Eren knew, Sasha could be plotting something right this very second. He was also currently enjoying some type of alcohol. Eren had only recently started to like the taste of alcoholic beverages (as opposed to a few years ago when they disgusted him), so he wasn't entirely too sure on what he enjoyed. Because of this, the brunette had asked the bartender for "something that will help calm his nerves" and accepted whatever was given to him.

Historia had told Eren to think over this decision, as this was one that would require much thought, and requested for a carriage to escort him to wherever he wanted. That ended up being Stohess. How fitting.

Eren mulled over his answer for the question. It wasn't really a matter of if he wanted to marry Annie or not, but rather a matter of if he could. By this I mean marrying Annie was not something that required a lot of thought. Though she did indeed break his heart, that didn't change his answer. He'd marry her in a minute. No, he'd marry her in a second. God, he'd marry her in a heartbeat, Eren loved Annie enough to do so. Under any normal circumstance, that is, but this wasn't normal. Nothing was normal nowadays. Besides, as he already thought about, it all depended on if he could marry Annie.

Obviously, that didn't mean if he had the legal power to do so, and didn't mean he loved her any less, because technically he could marry Annie. But, could he? Would he forgive Annie for everything she's done? Would he accept her into his life again? Would he be able to throw away not only his problems, but also hers, and start anew, allowing them to focus on the future?

These kinds of conundrums were the ones that plagued his mind during the course of the journey to Stohess and the meal he was currently feasting on. And here Eren thought the drink he had was supposed to help with this. All it did was, as he'd later put it, taste mediocre. That didn't mean he wasn't going to order another one though.

Without warning, a figure sat down opposite Eren. "Hey Eren!"

He looked up, not expecting to see Sasha. How had she even tracked him down to this random tavern? "What are you doing here?"

"Eh, y'know, to see if you managed to meet with Historia yesterday. What was that even about?" She then spotted the tankard next to his plate. And then the plate. "Isn't it a little early for booze?"

"You sure you're not just here to steal my food?" He joked.

Almost nervously, she replied. "Uh, no? I mean yes? Maybe?" Sasha had already swiped a few fries from Eren's plate while saying that.

"You know, I'm pretty sure if you just went to Nicolo he'd cook you something for free. It'd probably taste much better than this too." Eren offered up an idea for her.

Sasha paused her quest to get free food from Eren at the mention of free food from someone else, that someone being a master of Marleyan cuisine. "Huh?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he likes you, so he'd be more than happy to do it."

Not understanding that by 'likes you' Eren meant romantically, Sasha replied. "And? I like him too. And Connie, Jean, Armin, you, Mikasa and pretty much everyone else."

Eren shook his head, giving a small chuckle. "Whatever. Anyway, yeah, I talked with Historia for a while. It's given me a lot to think about, and I have like less than a week to come to a decision."

"Bou wha?" Sasha had stuffed her mouth full of food, making her words incomprehensible. She then gave herself a second to swallow. "Sorry. About what?"

"I'm gonna assume you know about Annie?" Sasha nodded in response. "Well, you know how there's a council meeting and vote to decide what to do with her? And that she might die, right?"

"Oh, yeah." Geez, who else is going to be ruining the mood during these times? First Historia, then Eren and now there's bound to be someone else.

"Well, Historia gave me a loophole to save Annie, and I think I want to take it. I'm not even joking." He took a swig from the tankard, finishing it off.

The goofy girl decided she had stolen enough food from Eren (and decided to seek Nicolo up on that offer) and stopped. "Ah, that great! So, what's the loophole?"

"I have to marry Annie."

Silence passed the table, though a considerable amount of noise came from a group a few tables over. The singled-out silence was broken by Sasha choking on a fry that had stuck itself in her throat. After bashing her chest a few times, unlodging the fry, Sasha reacted. "W-what?"

"The only way to prevent Annie's death is for me to marry her. It's got to do with some old rule."

"A-and you're okay with that?"

He nodded, pushing his plate towards Sasha, seeing as he was full already. "Yup. I love her and just don't want her to die like this. Or at all, really."

Gleefully, Sasha accepted the food. Free food was best food. "Wait, you mean you do have feelings for her?" He nodded. "Like, you've had feelings for her since our days in the 104th?"

"Yeah, why?"

Sasha gave a goofy grin. "Called it! Now Connie owes me his next few lunches."

Eren squinted his eyes, confused by what had just been said. "What? You made a bet with Connie about me and Annie?

"Uh, yuh-huh." Sasha saw the look in Eren's eyes. "So what if we did? You two seemed to have a sort of 'will they, won't they?' thing going on, and you definitely had some chemistry together. I mean, you were closer to her than anyone else. Besides, you looked cute together."

The green-eyed boy looked down at his hands, giving himself a moment to get over the fact that apparently everyone else knew of his feelings before he did. "Huh."

"Anyway," Sasha continued. "you're taking the offer then? And you're gonna marry Annie?"

"Well, yeah. At least…I think I am? I dunno, it's been hard to think about, and I don't have long to think about it either which doesn't make it any easier." Replied Eren, still amazed at the fact that Sasha could wolf down so much food and not be sick. Or fat.

"Hmm." Sasha thought over everything Eren had told her during the past conversation. She too hadn't yet entered a relationship, but she could probably help in one way or another. "You said you've got less than a week to come to a decision, didn't ya? Well I say you should spend some time talking to Annie, cuz you can't just force her into marrying you. I'm sure that Annie will understand. And I'm sure there's more to her feelings for you than you think."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He questioned.

"Um, nothing? I dunno." Sasha shrugged. "Whatever. Just…I hope you get what you want. I worry for you, Eren. We all do."

Offering a well-meaning thank you, Eren stood up, paid his bill, and once more parted ways with Sasha. She did mean well, clearly, and she was a very good friend, so Eren would keep her thoughts in mind.


	4. Chapter 4

Over the next few days, Eren did exactly as his friends had recommended, and spent time with Annie at her cell. Or rather, as much time as he could bring himself to.

The first day Eren visited Annie, he had once more shared no words with her, and left within minutes of arriving. He was tempted to try again later that day but couldn't bring himself to do it. Five days were left.

On the second day, Eren managed to convince himself to stay for a much longer duration and found that several thoughts had began to swirl in his mind. However, none of them wanted to come out, and this time, Annie opted to stay silent. Four days left.

The third day was just as uneventful. Eren had arrived way later than he usually did, and somehow, he looked worse than usual. Maybe it was the stress over this whole marriage thing, or maybe it was because with all the new people coming from Marley, and with visitors from Hizuru, the distrust between people was on an all time high. Once more, Annie stayed silent, not expecting Eren to say anything either. Three days to go.

Then came the fourth day. The fifth day Eren had seen Annie, not just since Historia had ordered him to, but also the fifth since her crystallization way back when. Only a couple of days left, and Eren still hadn't spoken to Annie once. This frustrated him, and these daily silent meetings got on Annie's nerves. But this time, progress was made, surprisingly.

Eren hadn't put any extra thought into this day as he had any other. He hadn't even prepared anything to say to his fellow shifter. Something felt different though, like Eren would be able to spill his feelings about everything going on and find a fitting resolution.

As usual per the past few days, the brunette found himself stood in front of the cell, staring Annie down. He was about to give up again, and turned to do so, but was stopped by a voice.

"Don't go." Annie's voice. Of course. It wasn't something he was hearing because of his connection to the paths, something that had been happening more and more frequently since he first triggered these memories, especially during moments of distress. Something was different about Annie's voice though. It sounded needy and desperate. In all the time Eren had known the blonde, she never once sounded needy or desperate.

He turned to face back towards the cell, and his apparent future wife (if all went according to Historia's plan, that is).

"Hm?"

The current holder of the Female titan continued. "You keep on coming here to see me but then you leave without an explaining why, and no one else has said anything to me. So just this once, stay. I want to know what's going on."

Eren gave in, feeling guilty. He had been essentially torturing Annie after all. Mentally, that is. "Nothing's happening. Nothing important, at the very least."

That was the first time Annie had heard Eren's voice since Stohess. It was gruff and deeper than before, so it took her a moment to connect the voice to the person. She sat up on her bed. "You're lying."

"No, I'm not." Was his response, almost a bark.

Annie huffed. "Yes, you are. I knew you for many years Eren. We were…" She didn't know what to say. Friends? Eren counted Annie as a friend, didn't he? But Annie wasn't 100% on the exact nature of their relationship then. Or maybe she could say partners? They had been each other's combat partner during the cadet corps. "something…"

"So what if we were? That has nothing to do with anything anymore." Technically a lie. "I don't even know what you want me to say. Hell, I don't know what I'm allowed to say."

"Then," Annie took a moment to consider what she wanted to know. "why don't we catch up? It's been a while and I'm…curious."

"You're in shackles, in a cell deep underground…and you want to catch up?" Eren retorted, unsure of the prisoner's intent.

"What else is there to do Jaeger? I've been out of commission for God knows how long, and all I get for entertainment is the occasional interaction with Christa-"

"Historia." He corrected.

"Right, she goes by her real name now. And then your Captain and Commander have told me some things too. Other than that, I just get to sit here all day and do nothing. But I assume since I'm under the Queen's castle there's a reason for me to be kept alive."

Eren gained a puzzled look. "How'd you know where you were?"

The Leonhardt girl shrugged, almost as if the answer were obvious. "I guessed."

"Really?" The brunette was intrigued.

'Fool.' Annie smirked and shook her head. "I see you're as dumb as ever. No, I was told this by Historia."

"Oh." Eren was sort of disappointed by that, but only because he figured that Annie would be able to…well, figure it out herself. At least the Annie he knew probably could. He moved to stand directly in front of the cage. "So, what do you know then?"

"Since Stohess?" As soon as the blonde said that, the two looked away from each other, the memory of the event being painful. "Well, a lot. I know that your brother invaded the walls," Idiot. "I know that Reiner and Bertolt outed themselves as titans," Idiots. "Ymir turned out to be the titan that killed Marcel, you guys overthrew the Government and Historia became Queen. Then your old Commander died, Bert died," Idiot. "Reiner and Zeke nearly died," Idiots. "Armin ate Bert and you finally made it back to your home and learnt about the outside world. I'm actually impressed about that." 'If not a little happy for you.' "After that, you wiped out all the titans and reached the ocean."

The Founding and Attack titan's holder reviewed what he had just been told. "Huh, so you know just about everything, more or less. Who filled you in? Historia?"

"Yup. For some reason she thought it'd be useful for me to know. Or maybe she just wanted someone to talk to." Was her answer.

"You may not have been friends with Historia, but she's one of the nicest people I've ever met. I think she wanted to make sure you wouldn't go crazy, and also wanted to let you know that people from your past were still here." Eren praised his friend. "Anyway, since you know all of that, how much do you know about what's happened to me?"

Annie coughed a couple times, indicating to Eren that her throat was dry. "Want me to get you some water?" He offered, though he didn't know why. Annie was sort of his enemy, but also someone he cared for, and was supposed to marry, so maybe that's why.

His female companion scrunched her features, not expecting such an offer. "No, that's…I'm fine." And then she added a quick "Thanks though".

Eren brushed it off. "So? What do you know about me?"

Taking a few moments to think it over, Annie shifted in place and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Honestly, not a lot. Care to fill me in? It'd be best to learn from the source, right?"

Agreeing, the doctor's son began to explain. "Back when Reiner and Bertolt tried to run off with Ymir, Historia and myself, I had been gravely injured and was unable to transform or fight."

Interrupting him, Annie queried her old training partner. "Didn't you have your ODM gear?"

"No, one of them had stolen it from me." He continued. "Anyway, not long after, many of us in the Survey Corps and Military Police were killed or injured, and me and Mikasa were brought head to head with the titan that killed my mom. To this day, I still don't know exactly what happened, but I…I freaked out. I saw it kill Hannes, and I went crazy and punched it. That's when I first used the power of the Founding titan and the coordinate."

Annie's eyes flew wide open. THE Founding titan? THE coordinate? The same thing she had been sent to retrieve along with Reiner, Bertolt and Marcel? "You…you have the abilities of the Founding titan?"

"Yeah, I inherited it from my dad, along with the Attack titan. Believe me, it was a huge surprise to us too. Some time after that, Historia and I were kidnapped by Rod Reiss, her father, and were taken to an underground cave where I was chained up in preparation to be eaten. That's when the abilities of the Founding titan came back into play. I started to see memories, not just my own, but my father's and those of Historia's sister too. Also, the man my father inherited the Attack titan from."

"You saw their memories? What's that like?" Annie was genuinely curious. After all, everyone only has their own memories, not anyone else's.

Eren rubbed his eyes, not only from exhaustion, but also from the strain that having to take on all these memories had. "It's hell. Sometimes I feel like I'm being influenced by my predecessors, and really their memories come at the most inopportune times. Whenever I experience these memories, it's almost as if I was there…as if I were that person, and the strain it puts on my mind can be excruciating. There are times when it feels easier on me, which tends to be when I come into contact with Historia, but more often than not it's more pressure than I can handle."

"Huh," Annie concentrated her sight on Eren's eyes, and noted that they certainly looked different. Tired. Lost. Heavy. Not the ones she recognized from the Eren she knew. With enough of a focus, Annie could just about make out the fragments of the old Eren, but from what it seemed, he was telling the truth. "that must suck." She paused. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry you have to go through that."

This reaction stunned Eren momentarily. During their time in the 104th, or even past that, Eren hadn't once heard Annie apologize for anything. Whether it be sympathy or empathy, neither came from Annie. That's not to say that Eren didn't appreciate it. And he guessed that since Annie was in fact a titan shifter like him, she could attempt to empathize with him now. Wait…couldn't she have done so from the start?

Either way, "Thanks." was his response, along with a warm smile. He'd been smiling an awful lot recently. It felt weird. "Anyway, after that whole ordeal, I gained the ability to harden my titan's body, sort of like Reiner, when I ingested some strange bottle in a panic. We then went to fight Rod's titan, and after a bit defeated it. And I guess the final thing to say is we reached Shiganshina, fought against Reiner, Bertolt and Zeke, and made it to the basement." The brunette gave himself a couple moments to regain his breath from the long-winded explanation. "That's about it."

"I guess you've been through quite a lot. I'm surprised you didn't die somewhere along the way." Annie retorted, though it was mostly jokingly.

"Hey!" Eren came back with, before the two teens set off shyly smiling at each other, Annie giving a small huff as an alternative to a chuckle.

Over the next 5-10 minutes or so, the two shifters exchanged words through various topics, though it was mostly coming from Eren. Because, y'know, Annie was in jail, and had previously been encased in a crystal. Not much had been happening there.

There was a line they mutually agreed to not cross, or rather knew not to cross. That being the one that would lead to a path of exploration of their shared past, by which I mean anything related to their fight, Annie's betrayal or her mission, and anything like that. Neither wanted to ruin the current flow of conversation or the mood presented by it. In the back of his mind though, Eren knew he'd ultimately have to confront Annie about this. That was his whole reasoning for being there, for talking to her in the first place.

Soon enough, their conversation slowed down and was led to an end. It had to though, and it was beginning to get dark, leaving limited time for Eren to get this whole thing over with.

Their last topic of conversation had come to an end, that of Annie asking for more details on things that had happened over the last few years, and Eren filling in those blanks. Just as it came to a conclusion, Annie finalized their peaceful back and forth. "Hey, Eren?"

"Yeah?" At this point he had retreated to the wall opposite the cell, leaning against it.

The blue-eyed girl (who had returned to sitting cross legged on her bed) flicked a few loose strands of hair from her face, jangling her shackles as she did so, reminding her of her situation. At some point in this talk with Eren, Annie had forgotten about being chained up. His presence was fairly comforting and was nice to be in given her impending doom. It was an escape from reality.

"Thanks for this. For everything." A heartfelt confession.

"Huh?" He raised an eyebrow. "I mean, you're welcome, but what for?"

"Well, I assumed that you came to say goodbye since I'll likely be killed soon. Whether it be execution, or eaten by someone to transfer my powers, it's gonna happen. Otherwise why would you wait until now to see me? And why would I be kept in a special cell under the castle, not anywhere else?" Was her answer.

Eren stepped back towards the bars separating him and the prisoner. "I-it's not like that." Hopefully. "That's not why I'm here."

"Why then?"

"Because-" He stopped. "Do you mind if I sit down for this?"

"S…sure." Annie was a little bit alarmed. She didn't know what was going on. Had there been a different meaning behind Eren's appearance?

To add to the confusion, as she replied, Eren had started getting comfortable. But not by pulling up a chair or sitting on the floor. Instead what he did was fish a set of keys from his pocket, unlock the door to Annie's cell and place himself a respectable distance away from her on the bed.

"W-what are you doing?" She was baffled.

"Sitting down?" He curved his lips ever so slightly, smirking.

"But…I don't…what?"

"What? I've been stood for a while, I wanted to rest my legs." Eren replied, tiptoeing around the subject.

Annie looked up at his features, studying them much easier now she had a closer look. "Aren't you worried I'll steal those keys and escape?"

Eren put the keys down between his companion and himself. "Nah, none of these keys work for your restraints." He picked them back up, looking through them. "At least…I don't think they do…Even so, I know you're currently too weak to fight back or transform." The keys were then returned to their spot. "Besides, I trust you not to!"

For the next few moments all Annie could bring herself to do is stare at Eren, mouth agape and eyes once again wide open. 'He trusts me? What the hell is that idiot on about?' After a few more moments, Annie regained her composure. Most of it. "You…trust me, Eren? Why are you being so casual around me? So nice to me? After all I've done, I don't…I don't deserve any of this…"

'Guess we're jumping right into it then.' Spreading his arms behind him, Eren leant back and stared off into the distance. "You want to know why I waited until now to talk to you?"

"Please."

"Because I had no reason to." He looked over to Annie, gauging her reaction. She was visibly hurt, shrinking into herself. "No, that's not entirely true. There were times when I did want to see you and talk to you, but I could never bring myself to do it. God, I'm weak, aren't I?"

Annie squinted her eyes at Eren and could feel tears wanting to well up. What her old training partner had said was somewhat insulting. They were…something, after all. "So why are you here?"

"Well," He started. "you weren't wrong when you said you might die soon. But I'm here at Historia's request because we want to save you. Your death is the last thing we'd want to come out of this."

"Why would you want to save me though? If I'm going to die, then let me die. I deserve to die." Her voice sounded rough. "Wait…why might I die soon?"

"I only found out about this recently, from Historia actually, but the council are planning on disposing you. Historia has, however, found a loophole that will only work if you agree to it. Or rather, if we both agree to it." Eren stated clearly.

"A loophole? Care to elaborate?" None of Annie's attention was divided elsewhere. A chance at living interested Annie, even if she didn't think she deserved it.

"Uh, sure. To put it simply, we'd have to get ma-" All of a sudden, a deep blush covered Eren's cheeks, and the fact that he was looking at the girl he loved didn't help. To hide it, he swiftly turned the over way, coughing as he did so. "Before I tell you, there's something I have to ask."

Annie stayed silent, puzzled as to why Eren turned away from her.

Eren cleared his throat and contemplated if it really was worth asking Annie this question here and now. Perhaps he could come back tomorrow? On second thought, no. He had to do it now. It was now or never.

"Why'd you do it?"

The girl waited for a continuation. Many thoughts came to mind about what could be behind that question. Annie had done many things in her life. Many questionable things. Many irredeemable things. When no explanation came, Annie had to ask for one.

"Do what, exactly?"

Betray us. Lie to us. Kill those close to us. Destroy our cities. Put up a façade for all those years and turn it around at the last second. Go against the promises you made.

Break my fucking heart.

Eren returned to facing Annie. "Any of it."

"Because I had to." Was her response. Perhaps not the correct one, but the most reasonable one at that point in time.

Eren shook his head, lips pushed together. "That's not good enough Annie. I need a proper answer."

She thought of a new answer. Or at least attempted to.

"Because I was forced to."

"No."

No? What was that supposed to mean?

"Because it was my mission?"

"You're sounding unsure of yourself now."

"Because I-"

Before she could finish, Annie was cut off by Eren. "Annie, before you give me your answer, please just take a moment to think this through. I need you to give me an honest answer. I want to help you out, and if you can't help me out and be honest with me, then I don't know how we're going to work this out."

Staring intensely at her male companion, Annie was visibly tense. It appeared she had been bottling something up, and now it was being unleashed.

"You son of a bitch."

"Wha-"

"No, now I do the talking. You shut up! Just shut up for once in your goddamn life, Jaeger!" The blonde barked in command at Eren. Did he cross some sort of line? "Do you really think you can just walk in here after all these years and expect us to talk like old war buddies? Expect me to open up to you like it's nothing and go along with your plan. Did you even once consider my feelings?"

Annie was right. He hadn't really ever done so. Up till now the brunette had been selfish, only taking into mind his own feelings. Well, when he had the energy to do so, that is.

"I was just a kid, not even 10 years old when I got sent on this mission, okay?!" At this point she had moved as far towards Eren as she could, yanking her chains as far as they would let her. "A mission where I had to live among the enemies of the people who sent me here! A mission where I had to kill people I lived among! A mission that stripped me away from my father who I haven't seen in I don't know how long!"

"Annie, I didn't know…"

"Exactly, you didn't, but you should have! I was scared out of my mind, terrified every second of every day that somehow, I'd be found out and something bad would happen to me! I've been down here, bored out of my mind and all alone. I would've thought that maybe you, the boy…the person I was closest to, would visit me at least once, but you didn't. The only person I know who came was Historia, and her and I talked maybe twice in our time in the 104th. I sat here, waiting day after day for you to finally come. I wanted to apologise to you so many times, but you never came…"

Annie had pulled back a small bit, her voice growing rough. "I wanted you to come so badly, but I started to lose faith…and then you never came…We were friends or training partners or…something. I don't know what you thought I was to you, but you were my best friend and I hoped that maybe you could understand me, maybe you could notice what was wrong and help me. But then…but then you came to Stohess, and all the guilt caught up to me and I had no way out. Perhaps if you had noticed me earlier, or if Ackerman and Arlert hadn't lured me into that trap I could have explained but it all went wrong, and I had no choice but to fight back."

The blonde gave herself a moment to breathe, knowing she currently had control over the situation. It was in this moment that she noticed her eyes had been dripping tears, and that Eren's had been filled with concern.

"And now…I'm being punished. I've been locked up with little to no human interaction, and I know I deserve it but…I just wanted you to be there. I wanted there to be one constant in my life that would be there for me, but instead I've been left for torture." Her breathing had turned heavy. "So there, that's why I did it! Are you happy now?"

Eren didn't know what to say. What could he say? Annie had just let herself become vulnerable for the first time, and now he had to somehow bring it all back around into a positive light.

"I…no, I don't…think so. I mean…I'm glad you could finally be honest with me, in fact I'm so happy you trust me enough to do so, but I didn't mean to hurt you this way. I…" The troubled boy paused, and all of a sudden, without warning, Annie felt herself pulled against something. Eren had climbed onto the bed, approached his friend and carefully brought her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her. "Thank you."

Annie couldn't quite comprehend the actions of her…oh screw it, her crush, her lover, her ex-boyfriend. The two of them had dated for a short time in the 104th. Well, dated is more of a loose term. They…clearly had feelings for each other and attempted to act upon them in as much secrecy as they could. This wasn't your typical teenage relationship with the pet names and the hand holding and the secret kissing and cuddles and the likes. It was more like trying to figure out what those feelings meant, trying to be there for each other and maybe, just maybe, getting in a kiss or two. That is, if Annie was in the mood, or if Eren was sneaky enough.

However, after a few weeks they had to break it off. Both teens genuinely wanted to see the relationship through, but Annie knew that that wouldn't be possible. She knew that with all the sneaking around Reiner and Bertolt made her do, she wouldn't have the energy to live this alternative life. She knew that she would never fit in among the people within the walls. And she knew that if Eren ever found out about her true identity, about all she's done both in the past and since arriving to the walls, that he would feel a betrayal deeper than any before. Their feelings would become muddled up in the moment and chaos would ensue. And, as they both now know, that was what happened. So, they had to end it. There were no hard feelings, but there was plenty of regret.

Back to the present, the blonde was still in confusion at the male's actions. She relented to his warm embrace, lifting her chained arms to hold onto him. "Thank you? Why…why are you thanking me?"

Eren gently caressed his fingers through her golden tresses, an action that proved to be comforting for the both of them. It was Eren had only performed once in the past, not discontinued because they hated it, but because Annie had momentarily found it embarrassing, and felt that it would lead to her feelings for her then boyfriend to grow even more, meaning the heartbreak would also be greater.

"Because you finally opened up to me and placed your trust in me. And now, we can carry out Historia's plan to save you." The younger of the Jaeger brothers replied.

After a few short moments, the imprisoned titan shifter spoke up. "I never said I trusted you, Eren." Eren released her from his grasp and moved back.

"I know, but…" Time was running out. He had to convince Annie on what do to soon. "I want you to. I want you to let me help you so that we can salvage whatever's left of what there was between us."

"Oh…I understand…" Sorrow filled the Leonhardt girl's heart, but it was nice to hear where Eren was coming from. "You never answered my question." Eren gave her a puzzled look, having forgotten it among all the stress and emotions flowing. "Why do you want to save me?"

"Right, uh, I guess we got side-lined a bit." He cleared his throat. "Well, it's simple. It's because I'm in love with you, Annie Leonhardt."

Annie was taken aback hearing that. Eren…was still in love with her? Even after all she's done, all they've gone through…his feelings hadn't subsided?

"T-that doesn't…uh…explain why though…" The female titan stammered out. The fact that this idiot who she used to love still held her in high regard and carried those feelings baffled Annie. She destroyed his whole world for God's sake, why couldn't he just hate her like any normal person would?

"Actually, it's not that simple." Oh…maybe he lied about his feelings. Just as Annie could tell her feelings for him were returning, just as her chest began to tighten, it reversed. "Wait, crap, no…I mean I do still have feelings for you, I DO still love you…I just..." Never mind. Eren was just an idiot. "Ah dammit, I messed up, didn't I?"

Annie let out a small laugh, followed by a hum. "How long are you going to remain a fool, Eren?"

The usually depressed man looked directly into the female's eyes, completely serious. "As long as it takes to make you happy."

Despite the chilled temperature of the room, all Annie could feel was warm. And loved. And content. At peace. "So is that why you want to save me?"

"Well, yeah, kind of." He let out a huff through his nose, his voice changing to a more serious tone. "Annie, listen…I've wanted to make you happy for a long time. I don't know if I'll be able to do it but… I have to try."

At some point Annie felt something brush over her hand. Wait, when had Eren slipped his fingers into her own?

"We've both been through a lot, everyone has, and I know that doing what you did wasn't easy. It wasn't even your own choice, but it was a burden you were forced to bear, something I can relate to." Eren drew back his hand. "I suppose I can relate to you in a lot of ways. Unfortunate ways, but ones we have to live with."

Annie knew what he meant. Being forced to become a titan. Having fathers who had no choice but to bestow those powers upon you. Losing loved ones. Being scared every second of your life that something could go wrong. And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

"My point is that, even though you left me behind, even though you lied to me and made me fight you, I still want you to be happy." An almost infectious smile crossed his face. "You're someone special to me, someone important in my life. I know I may not be able to take you home to your father, and I know that you might not want to accept my offer, but I'll still try nevertheless. I'll make it my goal to ensure your happiness before the curse overcomes you."

It was…sweet, what Eren was saying. There were no signs of deceit hidden anywhere, though Annie knew there was no point searching for them. Only Eren would do this sort of thing, no one else. Only he would throw away all the bad stuff just to find the good. Only he would stand up for himself while the majority look down on him. Only he would try to save Annie.

His offer was tempting, very tempting. And it was one Annie was going to take.

A few brief moments of consideration later (very short ones at that), and Annie responded. "Okay."

"Okay? Is…is that a good kind of okay or a bad kind?" Eren asked of Annie. He had a sneaking suspicion that she meant the good one, but with someone like her, you can never be too sure.

The blonde huffed again. "The good kind."

Eren was more than glad to hear that. "R-really?"

"Yeah, I mean I…I share those feelings you have for me, and I want to find some form of happiness. With you, that is." This time Annie was the one to slip her fingers into Eren's. They fit surprisingly well. "Look, Eren. I know I was never the greatest friend to you, and I know I've hurt you time and time again, but I truly never meant to. I didn't want to break up with you, or fight you in Stohess, but I had to. I had no other choice, and for that, I'm sorry."

The sensation of Annie's fingers caressing his own was electrifying. It was like seeing a whole new side of Annie, or at least seeing more of the one he saw for those few weeks. Doing whatever it took to make Annie happy, even if it meant going against orders from the higher ups, was definitely worth it.

"You don't need to apologise to me. I've come to understand why you did what you did."

Annie moved her hand to hold onto Eren's, squeezing it gently. "I know. You're the type of guy who'd probably say something corny like 'I forgave you a lot time ago' or something like that."

"Hey!" The brunette knew it was likely true, but still, not like she had to point it out. "So, what's your point then?"

"My point? I guess it's…" Annie placed her other hand over Eren's eyes, blocking his sight.

"W-wha…what're you doing?"

She removed her hand. "Close your eyes." He did.

The Leonhardt's voice grew sincere. "I don't want there to be any more secrets between us."

"O-oka-" Eren's response was interrupted by the touch of something soft on his lips. He momentarily opened his eyes, closing them once he realised what had happened. Doing so, he used his free hand to cup his lover's cheek, deepening the kiss. For both young adults, they relished in the feel of their action of affection, missing it from their younger days. But now, it seemed that everything was going to be alright.

Eventually, the two love struck fools broke apart, though only by a tiny distance. A clear rosy hue on her cheeks, Annie was the first to speak up. "I'm in love with you, Eren."

Eren was speechless. He hadn't expected Annie to say that so soon, and yet he was elated that she had.

Breathing heavily through her nose, Annie nervously continued, curiosity overcoming her. "So, um…err…how-" She cleared her throat, ridding herself of the nerves. "What's the plan then?"

"Plan? What plan?" Eren gave a puzzled look, the power of the kiss almost completely causing him to forget his true purpose for all of this. "Oh, right! The loophole. Okay, so what we'd have to do is – and if you want to think about it for a couple days then that's fine, or if you don't even want to do it because this thing between us is new then I'm sure we can find some other way – but what we'd have to do is…"

"Come on, Jaeger, spit it out already." Annie wanted to know how her life could be saved, or rather, how she could not waste the few years she had remaining from the curse of Ymir.

"Marry me?" Were the two words that quickly followed, leaving Annie starstruck.

"W-wha?"

Eren calmed himself down. "I said marry me."

The rosy hue from earlier had returned. "But…why? I don't understand." Not that she was complaining.

The Jaeger boy attempted to carry out an explanation. "Well Historia found an old loophole, saying that when a man and woman marry, the woman legally becomes their property. For some reason it was never written over, though I suppose in this case we're lucky it wasn't."

"And if I legally become yours then…"

"Then they can't touch you. No one can." Eren answered. "The higher ups won't be able to execute you or force you to be eaten by another titan. They can't do anything to you."

Annie's heart started pounding. "So…"

"So, we'll have to get marr-"

He was interrupted "Okay."

"And we'll have to live toge-"

He was interrupted again. "Yeah."

Eren could tell that as each moment passed, Annie was growing more and more excited.

"Some of the others might hate us."

"I don't care."

"They might find a way to beat-"

The blonde's heart was thumping loudly within her chest. "Doesn't matter. Let's…let's get married!"

"Okay! Then, let's do it. You sure you wanna do it?"

She replied as if obvious. "Definitely." One of her rare, warm smiles crossed her face. "I love you Eren."

Picking up the set of keys he had entered with, Eren grasped Annie's shackles. "I love you too."

Annie became puzzled following Eren's actions. "Wait, what are you doing?" He inserted a key into a lock, twisting it.

"Releasing you from your confinement. Or do you not want to come with me to see Historia and tell her the good news?" The shackle fell from Annie's wrist, and she immediately went to rub the spot where it was, enjoying the freedom.

Eren unlocked the other shackle, fully releasing his lover…girlfriend…fiancée?

Right as she was freed, Annie wrapped her arms around Eren. "Thank you."

The smile on the other titan shifters face brought a smile to his own, and a lasting heat to his chest. After Eren was released from Annie's grasp, he stood up, and offered her a hand. "Shall we?"

Gingerly placing her hand in his, Annie stood up, holding onto her lover to avoid falling over since her body hadn't regained full strength as of yet. It was only then that Annie noticed how much Eren had grown compared to her. Damn, he was tall. "Let's go."

Flashing a cheeky smile, Eren retorted. "I'm gonna marry the shit out of you."


	5. Chapter 5

Remembering the fact that, as humans, you kind of need to breathe to live, the two young adults detached their mouths from each other.

Still straddling him, the Leonhart girl spoke first. "D-did…did you-?"

Sitting up, the Yeager boy replied. Or attempted to, at least. "What…was that?"

Catching their breaths, not just from the amazing kiss they just shared, but also from the weird experience they also shared, Annie rolled off Eren, onto the grass next to him.

"You saw that too, right?"

Eren nodded.

Annie racked through her brain, trying to figure out what it was. It was when she crossed eyes with Eren that something came to mind.

"Listen, Eren." She immediately gained his attention. "This is probably going to sound dumb but…you wouldn't happen to know of this thing called the red thread of fate, would you?"

"It sounds like something Mikasa might have told me once in the past…what is it?" Mikasa had tried to tell Eren about it before, though this was many years prior, and so he had forgotten.

"You have to promise not to laugh."

"What?"

"You have to." She ordered.

Throwing his hands up in surrender, he agreed. "Alright, alright."

"Okay, so," Annie began to explain. "there's an old Chinese legend about this thing called the red thread of fate. It's something they believe is based on fate. According to the myth, the gods would tie an invisible red thread to two people, and that would make them destined to meet, and eventually marry. This would continue across lifetimes, no matter the place or circumstance, and would always come true. The red thread was an unbreakable one, proving their belief in this type of love."

Eren wanted to laugh, but it appeared Annie was being completely serious, and she seemed to know what she was on about. "So, you're saying we're soulmates?"

"I…I guess?" The blonde shrugged her shoulders.

"And that we've been married in previous lifetimes?" The idea of this seemed bizarre to Eren, but oddly romantic. He enjoyed romance.

"Yeah, it seems that way."

The two sat in silence for a few moments longer, contemplating what exactly it meant for them.

Eventually, the brunette spoke up. "So, should we get married then?"

"What?"

He continued. "I mean, that thing about us being soulmates honestly seems like the most reasonable explanation for all of that, so we should get married, right?"

"I…y-yeah, maybe…" Annie stammered.

The young adults spent the next few minutes discussing and trying to figure out what was going on.

* * *

Back inside the Leonhart household, Mikasa grew concerned as to why Eren had so suddenly followed Annie, and so opted to find out. "May I be excused?"

Mrs Leonhart paused her conversation with Carla to answer. "Oh, sure, go ahead."

Mikasa stood up and walked towards the room exit, just as she was about to step over the threshold, two figures rounded the corner. "Eren?"

Said boy jumped at the shock. "Oh, Mikasa! Did you need something?"

She stepped back to give them space. "No, I just was about to see where you went." Mikasa then glared down for a second and noticed that Eren and Annie were holding hands, and that they were smiling contently at each other. "What exactly happened out there?"

"Oh, right." Eren and Annie moved to the centre of the room.

Annie spoke first. "Mom, dad. Mr and Mrs Yeager." The parents of the room stopped their conversations, turning their attention to their children. "We've come to a decision."

"Hm? And what might that be? I take it this meeting went positively?" Grisha queried.

Eren spoke. "Annie and I have decided not to get married." Before anyone could say anything, getting the wrong idea, he continued. "Not yet at least. We think it would be best for us to take things a bit slower and go on a few dates first. Something like that."

The parents unanimously agreed it was a smart choice on their parts. Annie turned to look at her new partner, agreeing that he was a good choice, and mentally set a reminder to thank her parents for setting her up with him.

Carla then asked something of them. "Do you have any idea on what to do for your first date?"

"No, mom, we haven't gotten that far yet. We're open to suggestions though." Eren replied.

"I might have an idea." Lisa suggested, gaining the crowds attention. "I hear that parts of the Natural History and Science Museum over in Trost have recently been refurbished. Annie's never been, so perhaps you could explore it together?"

Eren looked down at Annie, seeing if she was interested. "I've never been either. Wanna check it out?"

A small smile graced her features. "Sure. Do I have to go with a similar dress code to the one you're in now?"

"Wha-Hey!" Eren exclaimed. "I told you, I wanted to make a good first impression. I didn't know what I was supposed to wear!" Everyone in the room, Annie included, broke out into a small fit of laugher.

Over the next half an hour or so, the parents all conversed about any details they yet had to catch up on, and then discussed plans for Annie and Eren's first meet up. Soon enough, the time had come for the Yeager family to depart.

Standing at the front door of the Leonhart household, goodbyes were passed between the families. First the parents did so, and then they left their two set up children for a moment.

"So, uhh…" Eren started. "I guess I'll be seeing you soon then?"

"Mhm." Annie responded. "It was nice meeting you." She stuck her hand out.

Eren was somewhat confused, but stuck his hand out anyway, ready to shake her hand. "It was nice to meet you too?"

Under her breath, Annie whispered something. "Idiot." She then pulled herself closer to Eren, and leaned up, planting her lips on his cheeks. "Call me." Annie then moved back and closed the door.

It took a few moments, but eventually Eren noticed a small piece of paper in his hand with a phone number on it. Presumably Annie's.

A heat rushed to Eren's cheeks, and he couldn't help the grin that crossed his face. It appeared that he had fallen in love.

So, this was what it was like to have a girlfriend.

* * *

Okay, maybe this wasn't exactly a story about an arranged marriage, but it was one about the red thread of fate. It had proven to be more than a legend before, and now it would continue to prove that no matter the circumstance, no matter the time, no matter anything, Eren Yeager and Annie Leonhart would always find each other.


End file.
